Scarlett

On 30 March 1996, firefighters responding to a blaze in an abandoned garage in Brooklyn, New York, witnessed something they never forgot. A stray calico cat was carrying her four-week-old kittens, one by one, out of the burning building to safety across the street — running back into the flames five times until all five kittens were out. By the time she had finished, the cat was severely burned: her eyes were blistered shut, her ears and paws were badly burned, and much of her coat was singed away. Unable to see, she was found touching each kitten with her nose to count them and make sure they had all survived. Firefighter David Giannelli, who rescued her, named her Scarlett for her burns and took her to the North Shore Animal League. Her story spread worldwide and came to symbolise maternal devotion; the shelter received thousands of adoption offers from across the globe. Scarlett recovered, though she lost an eye, and was adopted by Karen Wellen, who had pledged to give a special-needs animal a home after a car accident changed her own life. Scarlett lived another twelve years. The North Shore Animal League created the annual 'Scarlett Award for Animal Heroism' in her honour, and several books were written about her.